Peace, Zip, and the Rugby life

Apparently, the hot thing in interior design for '09 is serenity. It makes complete sense, with the state of things right now (I recently read that the American zeitgeist should currently be described as a polarity- terror and hope). Blues, whites, and calm- and escapism. Here are the whites.

And here is the escapism. This image captures that New England prep-Bedford Manor-Oxford professor-Ralph Lauren Rugby aesthetic that I just love.

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On another note, I have added another serious contender to my short list of (very) future baby names. I once learned, but had forgotten unti lI re-read it this week, that Sarai and Abraham's son was named "Laughter", or, in Hebrew, Isaac, because that was their response when Yahweh announced that this elderly couple would soon become pregnant. I love that Isaac means laughter, laughter before and with God.

Zipporah is my very favorite name for a little girl. It is so weird, I know. I had never heard of Zipporah until I saw The Prince of Egypt. Here is a still from the movie depicting the wedding of Zipporah and Moses, officiated by her father:

Zipporah means "little bird" in Hebrew (you ladies may recognize the Greek version: "Sephora"). Another fun fact that is significant to me in light of my recent love affair with this nation due to my work: Z is referred to at Cushite, meaning that she is Ethiopian, probably black, and definately a foreigner.

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I read this article about her characterization in the Narrative. Though she is referenced only briefly, she stands up to God when God wants to kill Moses and saves her husband's life. The verses where she is mentioned are really tricky, the article says her personality comes through:

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Although Zipporah is an obscure figure in the Bible, she is depicted favorably, while Moses is "hapless, a total shirker, full of arguments about why he shouldn't be the one to go to Israel and lead his people out of slavery," notes Kirsch. Zipporah, on the other hand, is heroic, "decisive, fearless, strong, the competent person in an emergency."

Watch her dance, woo, captivate Moses...

This might be a case where a female character is more fully fleshed out in the movie than in the text upon which it is based (like my other favorite female character, Arwen), but I love the character nonetheless.

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While we're at it, here is my very favorite scene, from any movie, ever: